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A Brief Report on the Asia Oceania Mariological Conference (AOMC)
September 11 -16, 2009, Philippines
The very first Asia Oceania Mariological Conference (AOMC) was held in
Batangas, Lipa City from September 11 to 16, 2009 with the theme
Mary and the Re-evangelization of Asia Oceania: forerunner, witness, and
fullness.
Archbishop Socrates Villegas, the convener and chairperson of AOMC,
together with many benefactors and volunteers from the Philippines
prepared well for the conference. The conference was a success! There
were about twenty-five foreign delegates from Australia, China, Italy,
India, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and
Vietnam. Some delegates and speakers were from the Marianum and IMRI. Another
thirty observers from the Philippines were archbishops, bishops, priests and lay people.
For each of the three days, the three principal talks used the framework
of Scripture-Magisterial-Anthropology. The flow of the program started
with the sixth National Day of the Pilgrimage to Lipan City at the Shrine
of Mary, Mediatrix of graces. The first working day of the conference
emphasized that Mary is the forerunner of evangelization from the
perspective of dialogue. It was Mary who prepared the way for Jesus her Son. Her dialogue with the
Angel in Luke's gospel was the scriptural foundation for discussion, with
Lumen Gentium , chapter eight, as the Magisterial teaching, and the experiences of dialogue in India as context.
The second day focused on the role of Mary in social transformation. The
Magnificat in the context of the Visitation and true Marian devotion are
tools to the reign of justice, peace and unity in the world. The mission
of justice is at the heart of authentic evangelization. Sharing details of
Marian devotion in the Philippines and in China encouraged solid
theological and anthropological studies.
The third day underlined the
The third day underlined the holiness of Mary. Mary leads us to holiness.
Her perennial calls for penance, prayer and conversion are pathways to
holiness. Meditation on Mary at the foot of the Cross turns our
minds to the image of Our Lady of Sorrows. Mary, mother of the Church
guides us to charity which is the fullness of holiness. The transforming
experiences of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan testify in a moving
and real way to a response of genuine on-going conversion.
The concluding Eucharist was celebrated at the Manila Metropolitan
Cathedral by His Eminence, Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales, D.D., and
Archbishop of Manila. It was decided that the next AOMC will be held in 2011
in the Philippines.
-Sister Celia Chua, MIC-Sister Celia Chua, MIC
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